


Pulled into the Light

by Jassy



Category: Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-28 02:40:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17174315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jassy/pseuds/Jassy
Summary: A thread from the past comes unwoven; Harry follows it to its source. TW in notes.





	Pulled into the Light

**Author's Note:**

> Talk about forced underage prostitution. it's not terribly graphic by my standards, but please use caution when reading if this is a problem for you.

Eggsy didn’t falter as he entered the room to receive his newest mission briefing. He didn’t falter, but he wanted to. Merlin was sitting beside Arthur, whatever this new man’s real name might be, and though his expression was as blandly professional as always, there was something – a faint tightness around the eyes, the way his gaze was just a fraction off of square, _something_ – that made the hair on the back of Eggsy’s neck stand up. Arthur himself also gave him mental pause, but that had been the case from day one. This new one was as pasty as Chester had been and even heavier and gave every impression that he was one cigar-and-brandy combo away from either a stroke or cardiac arrest. He was also _just_ as much an elitist snob as Chester had been, although both Merlin and Harry had assured him that they’d vetted the man and found him utterly loyal to Kingsman. 

But it hadn’t escaped his notice that Arthur rarely spoke directly to him if he could help it. It hadn’t escaped his notice that there hadn’t been so much as a bland ‘well done’ when the man had come in and been apprised of his actions during the V-day mess that had earned him a place at the table in spite of his failed dog test. It hadn’t escaped his notice that his missions, few as they’d been, had been more directly and immediately dangerous than was typical, particularly for such a new knight.

Caught up as he’d been in helping to clean up the world as well as with Harry’s miraculous survival, he’d ignored it in favor of putting his head down and getting on with his assigned tasks, willing to prove himself to the new Arthur over and over again, but even more desirous of proving himself to Harry.

This, though. This definitely felt different.

He kept his face as bland as Merlin’s as the information on the case was laid out to him, along with what his assignment would actually be. He read the specs, read his cover, and read the usual bureaucratic justifications that were always included in these things, although why Eggsy had never known since it wasn’t like they ever had to justify what they did to a government or the public. When he finished reading it over he met Merlin’s gaze squarely. “I’m afraid,” he said steadily, “that I’ll have to decline. Article 23 issue. Fortunately,” he continued, ignoring the flash of satisfaction on Arthur’s doughy face, “I believe the mission itself can still proceed. The target has a clear preference for females – Lancelot should be able to manage admirably. If she is unavailable, I can think of a dozen different approaches that do not require this particular cover.” He rose, absently tucking the clipboard under his arm. “Good day, Merlin, Arthur.”

“Gawain,” Merlin acknowledged, sounding ever so faintly pained.

His hands didn’t shake. Eggsy was very careful about that. His gait was steady, face bland, and his hands didn’t shake in the slightest as he left headquarters and took the bullet back to the shop, and from there, a cab to Harry’s house.

Harry greeted him at his door, eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Eggsy, come in. I thought you had a briefing this morning?”

“Oh, fuck you, mate,” Eggsy snarled, all the fury that he’d be repressing strangling up and out of his throat. He shoved Harry inside and slammed the door. “What the fuck is this? Why the _fuck_ would you tell ‘em, Harry?”

A flash of temper sparked in Harry’s eyes in reaction, but he didn’t lash out. Eggsy was a bit disappointed, actually. “It would help if I knew what ‘this’ was,” Harry said, voice as bland as Eggsy’s had been.

Eggsy threw the clipboard at him. Harry caught it neatly and activated it, eyes flickering as he scanned the same mission briefing. His eyebrows creased as he read, clearly puzzled. “This is ridiculous,” he murmured, seeming to himself. “Why….”

“Cause you bloody _told_ ‘em, didn’t you, you fuck. All that shite you been peddling at me since the day we met, and you go and pull this? Like it wasn’t hard enough with the rest o’ m’fucking life, just trying to earn a fraction of the respect you bloody snobs throw at each other, and you give ‘em that, too? Tell me, Harry, was this what you really had in mind?” Eggsy taunted. “Bring in some bit o’ fucking trash so all your posh mates won’t hafta get their bloody hands dirty and their knees all bruised?”

“Eggsy, what the fuck are you talking about?” Harry demanded. “I agree, this mission has got to be one of the worst plans I’ve seen, Kingsman or otherwise, but what the hell do you think I told them that you think led to this?”

“Read the end, bruv.”

Harry went back to the clipboard, finger twitching as he obviously scrolled to the end. His whole body went still, and Eggsy knew he’d hit the damning line ‘ _Agent has ample experience in the role prior to recruitment. Ideal candidate for the cover chosen.’_ Harry let the board dangle from one hand as he rubbed his forehead with the other. “Eggsy….”

Eggsy felt his mouth twist in a mocking smile. “Oh, what? Weren’t supposed to let on they knew?” he taunted. “Makes it harder to hold my leash if I know the truth, don’t it? I can’t believe I ever let myself forget. Blokes like me can’t never trust the likes of you.”

“One problem with that, Eggsy. I can’t tell what I don’t know,” Harry said.

“Bull-fucking-shit! You knew since day one! Dean’s dogs bloody told you what I was, right before you mopped the fucking floor with ‘em. Don’t fucking lie to me, Harry. Not no more,” Eggsy warned.

Harry dropped the clipboard and closed the distance between them in a couple long strides. He gripped Eggsy’s arms and gave him a little shake. “Eggsy, I swear to you. On everything I hold dear, _I didn’t know._ An insult, that’s all I thought it was.”

Eggsy broke the hold, grabbed Harry by his perfectly pressed shirtfront, and shoved him back up against the wall. Harry allowed it, Eggsy was under no illusion otherwise. He met Eggsy’s eyes unflinchingly, as he always had. There was anger there, and maybe something like sorrow, but not even a hint of deception. “You ‘spect me to believe that? Who else coulda known? Never got knicked for that, not even close. Dean sure as shit wouldn’ cop to turning me out, drugs is bad enough, law’d come down like a ton o’ fuckin’ bricks on ‘im for turning out a kid.”

“I don’t know, Eggsy. I don’t know how they found out. Kingsman doesn’t abide by the law, you know that. I doubt Dean would fair very well under our more extreme methods of information gathering. If there were others who knew, perhaps one of them talked. All I know is, if I had known, I would never have said anything. On my honor, Eggsy. I swear to you, I did not know, and I never spoke a word to so much as suggest any such thing.” Gently, Harry reached up and placed his hands over Eggsy’s. “I have never lied to you. I recruited you for the exact reasons I told you – because I could see how much potential you had. Because I could see a good man who wanted to do good with his life. I never saw you as something to use.”

One by one, Eggsy let his fingers unclench from Harry’s shirt. His hands were shaking, finally, as the betrayed fury drained out of him. He stepped back, absently smoothing the fabric before letting his shaking hands drop. “I hope that’s true,” he said quietly. “I want that t’be true.”

“I didn’t know, Eggsy. And I would never have spoken of it if I had. That…should have been something for you tell, as and to whom you wished.”

“And I never woulda. Not ‘xactly something t’ brag about.”

“Would you like a drink?”

“It’s nine in the bloody mornin’, mate.”

“And?”

“ _Fuck yeah_.”

Minutes later found Eggsy sitting on Harry’s sofa, studying the amber liquid of his second glass.

“I’m failing to see the point,” Harry mused. “That whole plan was foolish, with next to no chance of success.”

Eggsy turned his gaze to his friend. If he _was_ still his friend, after Eggsy’s accusations. Maybe it didn’t matter much anymore, but he hoped that he could claim the other man as that, still. Harry seemed honestly bewildered. Eggsy quirked his lips. “Harry, the plan was never to make me play rent boy. The plan was to get rid of me. And it fucking worked.”

Harry started, scotch sloshing in his own glass. “What are you talking about? Merlin wouldn’t have allowed you to leave headquarters with the clipboard if you’d been dismissed or resigned.”

“Nah, not that easy. It was only gonna play out a few different ways. I’d have to do it, wouldn’ I? if I played along. Suspicious fuck like that, he’d hafta see me. It’d take a while. I’d hafta peddle m’arse a good long while ‘fore he’d ever even think o’ buying me fer a night. An’ he prolly wouldn’. Don’t seem t’go for blokes, so’s it’d be a waste and I’d fail. I’d fail, an’ it’d get round what I was doing. Not ‘xactly a normal honeypot, right? Wouldn’ ‘xactly be welcome round the table after, specially if I failed while I was at it. Or maybe ‘e thought I’d quit right then, problem solved. Went the third route, though. Article 23 – mental health exemption.”

“Eggsy, we have that Article for a reason. This one. If an agent knows that something is going to trigger them in a way that they would be unfit to complete the mission, it’s a no fault refusal. You can’t be punished for it,” Harry explained.

“You really believe that. Christ, Harry.” Eggsy tossed back his scotch. “How do you not know? Article 23 has been used three times in Kingsman history. Least, three that were recorded. You wanna know what happened to the poor fucks as did? Two of ‘em died in the line o’ duty within a year, the third resigned within a year. Cause what they did, see, what I can look forward to, is missions. Mission after mission, shite we normally wouldn’ touch, active combat zones, terrorist groups, anythin’ and everythin’ they can think of, to wear me down. No downtime. No rest. Little to no support. An’ I know we go out there and usually don’ have much support as is, but this is gonna be somethin’ else. Fuck, this bastard they wanted me t’go after isn’t something Kingsman normally does. Ain’t never gone after a serial killer before. Leave that shite to the Feds, yeah? We’ve gotten that kinda evidence before and always just passed it on, no need for undercover work. This whole fuckin’ thing was about getting rid of me, by hook or by crook, and it fuckin’ worked.”

“I’m hardly going to allow that,” Harry said, steel lacing his tone.

Eggsy gave him a flat look. “An’ how you planning to stop it? You don’t pick missions. That’s between Merlin and Arthur, and Merlin sure as shit didn’ do nothing about this one. An’ even if you could, even if you can get ‘em to not drown me under a fuckin’ wave of missions, it don’t matter. I got three people there that’ll give me the time of day as is: you, Roxy, and Merlin. When this gets out, if it ain’t already? Fuck, Harry. I can put up with a lot, knowin’ I’m doing something good. Knowing I’m helping keep the world from turning to complete shit, but I got a breakin’ point. And we’re trained, ain’t we, to find that. You think Bors and Bedivere and Tristan and the rest aren’t going to do their damnedest to get me out, keep me from dirtying up the place too much?”

Harry lifted his chin. “You underestimate our colleagues, Eggsy. And me.”

Eggsy stared at him, then sighed and reached to refill his glass. “I hope you’re right.”

They sat in silence for a bit, making their way slowly through the bottle on the table. A soft noise from Harry drew his attention again and he looked over to see the older man looking pained. “What, Harry?”

“The day we met. At the pub. What I said about your father being disappointed in you.” Harry looked stricken. “I had no idea, Eggsy. I wanted to prick your temper a bit, but if I had any inkling of what you’d been through…..”

Eggsy reached out and patted his arm. “It’s okay, Harry.”

“It isn’t,” Harry insisted. “There was no excuse to use your memories of your father against you, and now….”

“Don’t,” Eggsy snapped. “Don’t _you_ start treatin’ me different, Harry. The best part of you recruiting me was thinkin’ you knew an’ it didn’t matter to you. You know what that did? You have any _idea_ how that made me feel? For the first time in almost longer’n I could remember, I din’t feel worthless. An’ I can see how Rotti’s comment coulda been just an insult, an’ I can believe you didn’t know, but if you start treatin’ me different.” His hands were shaking again.

Harry shifted to sit on the coffee table in front of Eggsy, set both their glasses aside, and gripped both of his wrists in his long-fingered hands. “I won’t, dear boy. You must know that. My regard for you, for your honor, your strength, and your resilience, will _never_ change. You have absolutely exceeded my every hope and expectation for you. That the man your mother married used you in such a fashion changes none of that. My only regret is the hurt my damned testing of you must have caused.”

“Nah, bruv. Was used to rich types lookin’ down on me. An’ watching what you did to that lot made up for anything anyway.”

Harry’s lips curled. “That’s nothing on what I would very much like to do to Dean.”

“You and me both, Harry.” Eggsy shrugged. “He’s away from Daisy, though, an’ that’s the important bit.”

“Still. A man can dream.”

Eggsy laughed a little. “Yeah, mighta had a few of that sort of dream myself now and again.” There was still a look on Harry’s face, though, and after a moment Eggsy twisted his wrists so he could grip onto Harry in return. “What is it? Still something botherin’ ya.”

Harry sighed and bowed his head. “Nothing I should be bringing up. Particularly when the future should be what I am focusing on.”

Eggsy swallowed. “Ask,” he ordered. “Just ask. It’s out now, yeah? May as well get it all out.”

“How – when – did it start?”

Eggsy freed a hand to reach for the bottle again. “I was always small, so I looked younger than I was. I think it helped him, a bit, that. I was twelve, an’ he knew a bloke had decent money and liked ‘em young. Wasn’t Dean’s normal game, but he never saw a chance for money that he didn’t take. Said it was me or me mum, so what was I gonna do? Mum, she – she’s not strong. She’d a done it if he turned her out, just so’s he’d keep takin’ care o’ her. Wasn’t as bad as it coulda been. Dean was careful about that, at least. Couldn’t let me get hurt or there’d be questions, yeah? So it stayed to just hands and mouths, and it coulda been worse. I knew that even back then. Stopped when I was fifteen. Finally started lookin’ more my age, and the gymnastics helped me fill out. He couldn’t get as much for me, so it was more trouble than it was worth. Pretty sure mum never knew.”

“I am so very sorry, Eggsy. That medal and favor now seem so much less than adequate.”

“Gotta say, always wondered about that. Ain’t no pension for families left behind, don’t seem right.”

“There’s never been a need,” Harry said simply. “You know candidates have always come from the same social class. Provisions for surviving families have never been a priority, as those families were comfortable on their own.”

“Figures. That’s okay though. I got mum and Daisy set for life, me.” Eggsy couldn’t stop the little smile of satisfaction from curving his mouth. “Said it yourself, got a huge IQ. Been learnin’ about investing and all, an’ their bank account is well fit. I’d take out life insurance, but I doubt I’ll die in any way that could be reported.”

“Nonsense. You’ll likely die an old man, warm in your bed. If you can keep from getting distracted on mission, of course.”

“Harry….”

Harry made a slicing motion through the air. “No, Eggsy. I refuse to allow anything else.” Eggsy could only smile, a little sadly. He would never have pegged himself as the more realistic of the two of them, but what could you do? He let it go in favor of refilling their glasses again.

They spent the rest of the day getting thoroughly pissed. They didn’t speak of work again, and by the time evening rolled around, both were ready to pass out. Eggsy took the guest bed again, comforted by the now familiar room, knowing his friend – and yeah, he could thank god Harry was still that, hadn’t given up his secret, and had forgiven him for thinking he could have – was just down the hall and had his back. He couldn’t delude himself that it would matter in the long run. They were Kingsman. They took their orders, did their jobs, and as good as Harry was, he couldn’t change the whole organization to suit himself. But it mattered more than Eggsy could say that Harry _wanted_ to.

The next morning, they worked together quietly to make breakfast. They were both a little worse for wear, so neither felt much like talking. They perked up slightly over greasy eggs and bacon, with strong coffee to wash it down, then got ready for their day. “You coming in today, then?” Eggsy asked, nodding at the suit jacket waiting by the door.

“Indeed. I intended to do so yesterday, actually.”

Eggsy nodded, ducking his head slightly. He straightened his cuffs. Apparently forgiven or not, it wasn’t okay to not offer the apology. “Listen, Harry. I’m sorry, yeah? I shoulda known you wouldn’t tell something like that. I just….” He stilled when Harry put a hand on the back of his neck, squeezing slightly.

“No apology needed, Eggsy. It’s quite alright. I would likely have come to the same conclusion in your place.” With a final squeeze, Harry released him to slip on his jacket and button it. “Now come, we should head out.”

Walking into HQ wouldn’t be easy, knowing what everyone else knew. Eggsy was immensely grateful that Harry wasn’t making him do it on his own. Merlin was waiting for them when they arrived, face expressionless. Without a word, he handed a clipboard to Eggsy. Beside him, very faintly, he heard Harry draw in a breath of surprise. Eggsy spared him a knowing glance, then read over his new mission brief. He tilted it to allow Harry to scan it as well. He was heading to the Middle East, deep into a terrorist controlled area, on the hunt for information on a plan to bomb several major Western cities. They had few leads, and the mission could take weeks, if not months, of trying to survive in one of the most hostile active combat zones the world currently had to offer. “Cheers, guv. When’s my flight leave?”

“Half an hour. Best get ready,” Merlin told him.

“Spoiled for prep time, me. Harry, could I have a quick word?”

“Of course, Eggsy. One moment, Merlin.” Harry followed him off to the side.

“Harry, listen. I know you don’t wanna believe me on how things are gonna go down. And maybe I’m wrong. Fuck, I’d love to be wrong. But if I’m not, could I ask you to do two things for me?”

“Anything at all, Eggsy.”

“I don’t altogether trust that pasty fucker not to do somethin’ to the accounts I set up for mum and Daisy. Could you just keep an eye out, like? Make sure nothing goes wrong, so she don’t hafta go lookin’ for another Dean?” Eggsy watched the older man close his eyes briefly, then nod. “Thanks. And when it’s your turn, Harry. Cause that pasty fucker can’t live forever. When it’s your turn sittin’ in that chair at the head of the table, you make sure Kingsman becomes what you want it to be. Make sure it’s real gentlemen, like you, that sit round that table.”

“You have my word on that, Eggsy.”

Eggsy grinned, vastly relieved. “That’s alright then. It’s as good as done, yeah? Best go get kitted out, don’t think my suit is gonna fit in over there.”

“Indeed not. When you get back, we’ll have dinner at that Italian place you like.”

Eggsy grinned wider. “I’ll be back before you know it. Swear down.” He turned and walked away, burying his nose in the mission brief.

~

Harry watched Eggsy walk away, head tilted ever so slightly. Merlin put a hand on his shoulder. “He’ll manage, Harry. He’s as good as you, and quite possibly even more stubborn.”

“Merlin, there is a very great deal that you and I must speak about. **Now**.”

“You know I can’t….”

Harry cut a look at his oldest friend. Merlin closed his mouth with a snap and nodded. Together, they walked down to the control room, past the handlers busily researching or guiding agents through missions, to the isolated room that Merlin ruled from. Harry took a seat, absently smoothing out a crease. “Now then. Who put together that farce of a mission?”

“I don’t know. It was flimsy by anyone’s standards, but I can tell you it sure as hell wasn’t me. I saw it all of half an hour before the boy did.”

“I see. And who precisely came up with the notion that Eggsy had once prostituted himself, and was therefore ideal to carry out the mission?”

“Harry, _I don’t know._ Arthur presented it, but I’ve seen the missions he’s designed. It didn’t have his feel. And I’ve no notion where he got the idea that Eggsy whored himself –” Merlin cut himself off, eyes focused on the knife that was suddenly inches from his face.

Harry glared down at him, rage spilling out of every pore. “Have a care how you speak, Reginald,” he said steadily. “That young man has earned far more respect than what he’s been receiving. I’m not about to tolerate _anyone_ being at all rude about or to him. Not any longer. Not even you.”

“Harry.”  Merlin pushed his chair back to get a bit more distance. “I have nothing but respect for him, you know that. But the fact remains, he’s in deep shit, and there’s precious little we can do for him.”

“Isn’t there? What’s his mission schedule look like?” Harry stepped back, knife vanishing, though they both knew it could reappear in less than a heartbeat.

“Crowded. Assuming he comes back in one piece from this one, there are another half dozen just as dangerous waiting for him. I won’t say they’re as flimsy as the one he was handed yesterday, but the one he’s on is the only one I’d say is actually something we’d normally handle. Other agencies are already working on the other situations, and our presence could do more harm than good.”

“Then see what you can do about getting them resolved before he gets back. And, Merlin, he had _better_ get back. In the meantime, I have a very great deal of research to do. I expect full access to whatever information I require. There seems to be a foul odor about the place – I intend to clean house.”

“Be careful,” Merlin warned. “Be very careful, Harry. If it looks like you’re compromising Kingsman….”

“I am not compromising Kingsman, Merlin. I intend to save it.”

Harry didn’t go see Arthur, although he had no doubt that the old man rather expected him to. It wasn’t time yet, and with Arthur anticipating him, he would be on his guard. Instead, he went to the library, as Eggsy had suggested, to review previous missions and agents. By lunch, he had come to the same conclusion that Eggsy had: those agents who had used Article 23 were summarily run out of Kingsman, either by early retirement or death. It would seem that, though the provision was nominally there to protect agents and missions alike, it was instead used as a measure of ‘strength’. Anyone who bowed out of a mission with that as their reason were deemed unfit.

Further research also confirmed that neither he nor Eggsy were mistaken, and Kingsman had never made a point of apprehending serial killers in the past, nor had the cover of prostitute ever been used as extensively as that farce of a mission had called for. Honeypots focused on a single target, deliberate seduction and information gathering. If an agent had posed as a rent boy in the past, it had only ever been a brief thing, a matter of minutes or hours, without any actual need to service clients.

Arthur was the obvious choice of culprit. Clearly, he had somehow found out about Eggsy’s past, a detail even Harry hadn’t known. Whether it was the straw that broke the camel’s back or whether it was simply the leverage he had been looking for remained to be seen. The why, sadly, Harry had little trouble agreeing with Eggsy on. The new Arthur in particular was uncomfortably reminiscent of Chester in his opinions and beliefs. It was one thing to save the masses – another thing to actually dine with them.

And to think, he’d once been relieved that there was someone else still more senior than himself to take the position of Arthur, leaving him free to remain a field agent! The gunshot to the head must have scrambled his wits more than any of them realized.

He left HQ with a plan – it was a fairly loose plan, one that left room for any number of possibilities, but which would ultimately end, most likely, with him in Arthur’s seat. But, well, if it kept Eggsy alive, and allowed Kingsman to finally grow out of the outdated, superiority complex-riddled model of the past, so be it. The world was changing, and if they wanted a hope of being able to continue to help, then Kingsman would have to change right along with it. It was long past time.

Dean Baker was not a difficult man to track down. He was a creature of habit. He remained in the same neighborhood that Eggsy had grown up in and continued to frequent the same pub that Eggsy had brought him to for their first drink together that was so rudely interrupted. He seemed to have the exact same associates, with the addition of a rather sad young woman who seemed to walk around in a state of perpetual flinch, as well as a rather expensive new sportscar that should be well beyond his means. When Harry looked into the young woman, he found a history of abuse and foster care, followed by further abuse, mixed most recently with drug issues. No children yet, fortunately, so it was unlikely that there was another Daisy stashed about somewhere.

Harry watched the man for a week before he had a window to make his move. As tough as the man behaved, he spent an awful lot of time with his thugs surrounding him, or the sad young woman as a nearby victim/shield. Still, the caution (cowardice) which seemed to dictate his every action wasn’t enough to overcome his temper, and a dropped bottle of lager on the woman’s part enraged the man enough to storm out of the dingy little flat, though not before refreshing the girl’s black eye.

It was child’s play to dart him when Baker stormed along the streets, angrily kicking refuse out of his path. Harry nabbed him in the blind spot of the nearby CCTV cameras, loaded him into the back of his vehicle, then drove sedately out of the area, then out of London itself.

He had chosen his location for his chat with Baker rather carefully. As the man was the one to force Eggsy into prostitution, he was the logical man to go to about information on that time of his life. Further, anyone looking for any kind of ‘dirt’ on Eggsy would certainly have looked to Baker as a viable source. Baker was an obvious criminal, for whom base self-interest was his only motivator, who also had an obvious and intense hatred for Eggsy. Harry wanted plenty of time and privacy for his talk, as well as the inevitable clean up afterwards. If Baker was the initial source, however, then someone from Kingsman had gotten to him, and may well have him under continued surveillance to make certain he didn’t speak to anyone else, so speaking to him at his usual haunts was right out. And using any of the Kingsman locations was equally ill-advised, as he would have to do far more work to remove the standard surveillance that all agents had access to than simply taking him somewhere else. No, a new location, carefully selected, suited far better, even if the body disposal would be an unpleasant chore.

Harry was rather fond of the latest iteration of knock out drug used in their watches. There was actually very little in the way of side effects, and provided you knew the approximate weight of your target, recovery could be timed very nearly to the minute. So he was well prepared when Baker came to with an inelegant snort, jerking against the wire ties binding him to the very sturdy metal chair placed in the center of the disused barn. The structure was a bit on the old side, and its long disuse had led to larger than average gaps between boards. Even so, the inside remained quite dim, a fact not helped by the overcast English weather. Baker squinted in an effort to see better as he woke and looked around frantically. Harry made it slightly easier for him by stepping directly into a shaft of weak light. “Who the fuck are you?” Baker snarled.

“A man who has a number of questions for you, Mr. Baker. Questions that I **will** receive answers to. Whether you answer them in your current state of comfort or not is up to you, but you will answer them,” Harry assured him.

Baker scowled, eyes sweeping over Harry’s frame. “Posh fucker, you got no idea what the fuck you done. Me ‘n my boys are gonna make you fuckin’ cry for your mum, bleedin’ poofter. Get me the fuck outta this fuckin’ chair.”

“I think not. Now then, I wish to discuss a former acquaintance of yours. Gary Unwin, generally known as Eggsy.”

“That little fuckin’ tosser? That’s what this’s about? Shoulda fuckin’ known. That little pissant ain’t nothin’. Just a piece o’ trash as is peddlin’ his arse to some rich fucker, fuckin’ queer, an’ good fuckin’ riddance.” Dean scowled at him, arms jerking against his bindings. “I know your voice, wanker. You’s the one what claimed you had some kinda evidence on me, aint’cha? Yeah, I got you now, know your fuckin’ face now, don’t I? Rich piece o’ shit, thinking youse better’n me, thinkin’ you can do what you like.”

“I _am_ better than you, Mr. Baker. By any standard of measurement, as is Eggsy.”

“Muggsy’s nothin’ but a fuckin’ whore, an’ a dead one now,” Baker vowed.

“It isn’t Eggsy’s life in danger at present, Mr. Baker.” Harry took three long strides and backhanded the man sharply across the face. “And I suggest you moderate your speech when you talk about him. Eggsy is no ‘whore’ as you put it.”

Baker spat but missed Harry’s feet by inches. “He’s nothin’ but a rent boy, you can find a dozen or more like ‘im down on Smith Street.”

“Well, as I understand it, it is technically true that Eggsy once had to sell sexual favors for money, Mr. Baker. But at the age of twelve, it was hardly his idea, was it? No, I do believe that it was your idea. A twelve year old boy, Mr. Baker, really. There are a great many people, including of the criminal persuasion, who do not take kindly to those who molest children. Nor those who force children into being molested, as you did. And that’s just in our prison system, Mr. Baker. I can assure you, if I were inclined to see you incarcerated, I would do so in a country that makes even the American prison system seem like a vacation spa.” He was pleased to see the man’s ruddy face finally blanch.

“I dunno what that little fucker told you,” he began.

Harry cut him off with another sharp blow to the face. “Enough. I want to know more, but I would hardly like to distress him by making him tell me more. Your distress, however, I find I can tolerate quite well. I want to know who all knew what you forced him to do. I want to know how you found his clients, who those clients were, and who else may have been making inquiries similar to mine.”

“I ain’t tellin’ you nothing!”

Harry drew a syringe out of his pocket and uncapped it. “That’s just one more thing that you’re wrong about.” Baker jerked and tossed his head in an attempt to avoid the needle. Harry had not a single problem with jerking the man’s head to the side via a tight grip on his hair and stabbing him unceremoniously in the neck.

“What the fuck was that?! What’d you fuckin’ put in me, you bloody faggot?”

“I’m sure you’ve seen spy movies, Mr. Baker. I’m sure you’ve heard of sodium pentothal?”

“That shite don’t work.”

“Amazing, you actually got something correct,” Harry marveled. “It’s true, sodium pentothal doesn’t work as it’s depicted in film. This, however, is something else. Very shortly, you will begin to feel a slight tingling sensation. A bit of a prickle, if you will, throughout every square inch of your body. Quite a maddening sensation, really. That sensation will grow, until if feels like every single nerve is being bitten by a fire ant. Should I not provide the counter agent, the feeling will become so intense, so incredibly painful, that you will do quite literally anything to make it stop.” Harry smiled pleasantly. “I have seen men scour their flesh from their body in an effort to make it stop. Telling me what I want to know seems a much easier path, don’t you agree?”

“What’s that got to do with sodium pentothal?”

“Oh yes, thank you.” Harry held up another syringe and jabbed that in as well. “This is what my organization uses. Give it a moment, and I guarantee you’ll be babbling every single thing I want to know, much as Hollywood would have us believe sodium pentathal does. It utterly removes inhibitions. You’ll be telling me all about the first time you wanked in mummy’s underthings as a lad.”

Baker had begun to squirm on his seat. “Yeah? Then why’d you give me that other shite then?”

“Why, for my personal entertainment, of course. And because I can assure you, you’re more than deserving of it. Shall we begin?”

“F-fuck you!” Baker continued to shift, attempting to rub and scratch as much of himself as he could manage.

“I want names. Who did you sell your twelve year old stepson to?”

“Whoever wanted ‘im,” Baker snapped. “Miserable little sod weren’t good for nothin’ else, was he? Nothing but a pain in my fuckin’ arse, always needin’ food an’ clothes an’ shite. Always getting’ in th’ way when I wanted to get my end away with his bitch mother. Fuck’s sake, this is fuckin’ annoying, where’s the antidote?”

“How did you find your clients?”

“All them fuckers knows each other, don’t they? Find one, you find ‘em all. Ol’ Manfred couple blocks over, everyone knows ‘e likes ‘em young. Give me forty quid to have the little shit yank ‘im off. Din’t mind getting’ a bit rough with the brat, break ‘im in for me.”

“So you never indulged yourself?”

“Fuck no, I’m no queer!”

“Ah. So you draw the line at being the one to rape him, but you have no qualms about taking money to allow others to do so.”

“The fuck you on about? Never let any of ‘em bugger ‘im, scrawny little shit woulda bled all over everything.”

Harry closed his eyes, slightly relieved. He hadn’t been entirely certain that Eggsy had been entirely forthcoming on that point. It would be entirely like the young man to downplay his own ordeal to avoid distressing others. “So this Manfred put you in touch with others of a similar persuasion?”

“Yeah, arranged dates like, once the brat was trained. Had all sorts. Even one a you high an’ mighty types, posh fucker, lookin’ down on me like he was any better. Least I ain’t no fuckin’ faggot.” Baker tossed his head back, scrubbing his scalp against the back of the chair. He had begun twisting his arms and legs, not so much to break free, but to rub the restraints against his skin. “Charged that bastard plenty extra. Old fucker like, prolly couldn’t get his own without payin’ for it anyway. Came close to lettin’ ‘im bugger the little shit, but he liked hittin’ when it was just his mouth, wasn’t about to deal with whatever he’d do if I let ‘im at the kid’s arse.”

“Truly, you are the soul of kindness. And Manfred knew this man, then?”

“They wasn’t friends or nothin’ but yeah. Manfred arranged all Mugsy’s dates aside from hisself. Got so’s I let ‘im have the brat for free.”

“And did you allow Manfred to supervise these dates?”

“Fuck no, they’da been on ‘is arse for sure that way. Weren’t going to prison for _that_ , brat weren’t worth it. Fuck, fuckin’ seriously, this ain’t funny. Gimme the antidote, this is fuckin’ driving me round the twist!”

Harry took another syringe out of his pocket, and Baker’s eyes fastened onto it, beginning to water with his discomfort. “Are you in pain, Mr. Baker? Has it truly become painful already? That’s rather fast, I think. It should be at about the level of poison ivy at present. Surely a man so tough as yourself can stand a bit of itching.”

“ _It’s everywhere!_ It’s in m’cock, it’s in my mouth, it’s _everywhere!_ You can’t do this shite, it’s against the law, there’s rules!”

“My organization doesn’t have such rules, Mr. Baker. We are so covert the government doesn’t even know we exist. The law can’t protect you, the UN can’t protect you. You made the biggest mistake of your life when you decided Eggsy Unwin was yours to do with as you please. I don’t care for your petty drug running, your thieving and mugging. But Eggsy Unwin may well be the best man I know, and I simply can’t permit you to get off scot free as they say for what you put him through.”

Baker glared hate at him through runny eyes. “I’ll kill that little shit for this. I’ll wrap m’hands round his neck an’ squeeze till his eyes fuckin’ pop!”

“Oh, I’m sure you’d like to. I’m afraid you won’t ever get that chance, although I would certainly enjoy watching him beat you into a coma for trying. But he needn’t soil his hands with you, and I’ll make certain he doesn’t have to. Now then, has anyone else come around asking about Eggsy? Perhaps offered money to learn about his past?”

“Some old fucker, yeah. Was askin’ Poodle, paid a shit ton o’ money just to know Mugsy used to sell it. Now please!”

“My goodness, who knew you even knew that word? Who was this old fucker?”

“No clue, real lord type. Paid enough t’buy me a sweet new car. Damn it, fuck, this is – you can’t do this! Gimme the antidote, please, can’t do this anymore!”

“Are you crying, Mr. Baker?”

“Yes!” the man sobbed, snot now joining the tears leaking down his face.

“Did Eggsy cry? Did he beg not to have to do the things you made him do?”

“Not for long, just the first couple times! Manfred was a demon with that belt o’ his.”

Harry stood for several long moments, just watching the piece of filth in front of him writhe, listening to his increasingly desperate pleas for relief. Eggsy never asked for help. Eggsy never complained when he was injured, never attempted to dodge the dirty work, never tried to ease his own burdens or asked another to help him do so. Because he’d learned at the hands of this creature and the predators that this man sold him to that doing so would only make things worse. “When did it stop, Mr. Baker? When did you stop selling Eggsy to men?”

Baker panted, drooling slightly. “When ‘e got too big. The rich one liked it rough, din’t ‘e? Liked to choke ‘im a bit. Brat hit a growth spurt or somethin’, got a bit o’ muscle. Smuggled a knife in, an’ when the rough started, stabbed the rich guy in the gut. Beat ‘im black an’ blue for it but he was gettin’ a bit old for most o’ the ones as paid th’ best anyway. Put ‘im to work runnin’ product instead. Now please, please, I’m beggin’ you, please make this stop!”

“I’d like you to look at some photographs, Mr. Baker. I’d like to see if anyone in the photographs is familiar to you, perhaps as one of the men you used to sell Eggsy to.”

“Never saw their faces, did I? Wore masks, like, fuckin freaks. Manfred had as much to lose as me, wasn’t gonna bring in anyone he din’t know, so what the fuck did it matter?”

Frustrated, Harry let out a sigh. “Then perhaps the rich man who was asking your associate questions.”

“Ask Poodle! I never saw ‘im, just the money! Put Poodle in this god damned chair, put that shite in _his_ veins! He liked beatin’ Mugsy as much as anyone! Fuck, put ‘is bitch mum in this seat, she never cared what I got up to w’ ‘im, so long as I paid the rent on time!”

“Those are excellent suggestions, save for Michelle. I’m aware of her faults as a mother, faults that you made far worse. Did it make you feel strong to beat her, as you beat the new young lady you’ve taken up with yes?”

“Damn right, listening to her squeal and cry when she fucked up and got the back of my hand felt real good. Put her in her place, where she belonged!”

“Ah, well. I do hope you feel it was worth it. All the pain you’ve caused, all the lives you’ve done your best to ruin. You haven’t been nearly helpful enough to earn relief.” Harry deliberately put the syringe back in his pocket, amused at the hungry, desperate way the man watched him. “You’ve given me but one name I didn’t already know. Tsk, Mr. Baker. A man who wants something so badly should be prepared to earn it.”

“Wait! You was askin’ bout the men, yeah? The rich one who liked to do it rough? Had a ring on ‘im, one o’ them fancy ones on ‘is little finger. Had the same mark on it as Mugsy’s little trinket, the medal from ‘is ol’ man. Just the same mark! That’s gotta be worth somethin’, yeah?”

Harry went a little cold. “This mark?” he asked quietly, getting close enough to show his signet ring.

Baker nodded franticly. “Yeah, ‘xacly the same! Thought ‘bout knickin’ it offa ‘im a time or two, but Mugsy made more wi’ his mouth than I’d get for that itty thing.”

“Thank you, Mr. Baker. That was actually helpful.”

“Now gimme the stuff, yeah? Just, here, right in the neck like the other shots!” Baker craned his head to the side, exposing his sweaty neck.

“Oh, I think not, Mr. Baker.” Harry leaned against a support pillar, arms crossed leisurely across his chest. “I intend to wait right here and watch. You’re welcome to scream, of course. We’re really quite far from anyone else, no help will come for you. If you’re lucky, perhaps I will release your restraints, if only to see how much of your own flesh you carve from yourself in your efforts to make it stop.” He allowed a cold smile to dance across his lips. “You had to know you were never walking out of here. Not once you’d seen my face. That would be the height of stupidity on my part, wouldn’t it?”

Baker panted in between scraping his tongue and cheeks against his teeth. “I’ll kill you, I’ll fuckin’ kill you, cut that fuckin’ smirk offa your fuckin’ _face_ when this shite wears off,” he snarled.

“Wears off?” Harry repeated. “That would be interesting to see. No one has ever lasted long enough to find out if it even does. Well, now you’ve definitely piqued my interest. Call it scientific curiosity, but I really must watch this in its entirety to see if that even happens. Excellent suggestion, Mr. Baker. Who knew you were an intellectual under all that beer and bile?”

True to his word, Harry watched. He watched the man writhe in his bonds, so hard he managed to overturn his chair. He watched as Baker went from scraping his tongue, cheeks and lips in search of relief to biting them, eventually biting chunks off and gagging them out to the dirt floor. He watched him struggle, and listened to the screams, made unintelligible by the lack of tongue as well as the blood flooding his mouth, and listened as bones broke from the force of his struggles.

Finally, after a good three hours, he listened as Baker gurgled his last breaths as his heart finally gave out under the strain.

Sighing, he activated his glasses as he began the tedious process of bundling the corpse up for disposal. “Merlin, are you available?”

“Go ahead, Harry,” was the prompt response.

“There is an individual that goes by the name Manfred that lives near the estate where Eggsy grew up. I need you to find out who and where he is, if you please.”

“Do we know if that’s a given name, family name, or nickname?”

“We do not. Nevertheless.”

“I’ll find him.”

“Thank you. How is Eggsy fairing?”

“He’s okay, Galahad. He was able to make contact with one of our local informants, feels he’s making a bit of progress. He checked in last night.”

“Excellent. Any other news?”

Merlin was silent for several moments, then blew out a breath. “There’s been talk. His former occupation has gotten around. It’s not so much around the support staff, you know he’s popular with us. But most of the other agents have heard by now. There’s been talk about his fitness to be an agent.”

“I see. Any idea who was the first to know?”

“It’s a toss-up between Bors and Percival. But then, both met with Arthur the same day Eggsy declined that mission.”

“Hmm.” Harry tucked that tidbit away for further contemplation later. “And who are the ones questioning his fitness as an agent?”

“All of them but Percival and Lancelot. The tone seems to be that if he was willing to sell himself, what else might he be willing to sell, especially when he not only failed the dog test, but killed the previous Arthur. And no, the fact that Chester was a traitor and would have been executed anyway doesn’t seem to matter,” Merlin finished, disgust in his voice.

“Sometimes, I truly wonder if any of them actually knows what a gentleman really is. Keep your ears open and let me know if anything changes.” He tapped his glasses, cutting the connection, before Merlin can finish agreeing. Harry hauled his grizzly bundle out of the barn, squinting as the weak sunlight seemed to stab his eyes, so used to the dim had they gotten. It didn’t slow him as he stashed the remains, ready for disposal in the river, in the back of the car.

Poodle was easier than Dean to grab, and far easier to question. The man recalled Harry only too well, and without his pack around him, was smart enough to know he had no chance. He was quick to identify Arthur, or rather, Archibald Stansmith, as the man who had paid him 100K in cash for a list of Eggsy’s ‘crimes’ that weren’t on his official police record. As reward for his quick cooperation, Harry put a bullet in his brain. He didn’t bother with concealing this particular body; Poodle was a known criminal. His body would be found, Dean Baker’s absence would be noticed, and the police would put two and two together. As a known criminal and drug dealer, the most likely story would be that there had been a falling out of some kind, Baker had killed Poodle, and then fled. A perfectly logical conclusion, of the sort that police quite liked, and was frankly usually the case.

He debated whether he should bother killing the rest of the gang, then decided to hold off on that. The current situation would be easy to explain; killing all of them would draw far more interest to the case. Without a leader, more than likely, the remaining members would screw up and get themselves arrested for other crimes soon enough.

When he next went to HQ, Merlin was waiting with information on the mysterious Manfred. Harry took the file and flicked through it. Manfred Wells, age 63, was a retired welder, and was also on the sex offender registry for possession of child pornography when he was 23. He hadn’t been arrested since then, and his only other offenses were traffic violations. His proclivities were known in the area where he lived, well enough that parents warned their children off, though of such old news that he didn’t suffer the harassment that often accompanied such a conviction when the perpetrator were released from prison. It would seem that he kept his head down and had learned enough discretion as to keep anyone from paying much attention to him.

“I have some information as well. It would seem that one of us is a pedophile. Baker recognized the crest on one of our signet rings as matching the markings of the medal I gave to the Unwins. The men apparently chose to conceal their faces, so I have no description beyond ‘rich’ and ‘old’, whatever that bloody means. I’d like to look through medical records. It would seem that whoever it was with this ring had a penchant for causing pain, and around ten years ago, Eggsy had enough and brought a knife with him and managed to stab his attacker in the stomach.”

Merlin grunted, lips twisted unpleasantly. “It’s unlikely whoever it was would have been treated by professionals, either here or within the NHS, but we can look. A stab wound would certainly have caused questions to be asked. It’s not like any of us are prone to being mugged.”

“True enough. It’s also possible the injury wasn’t severe enough to require medical treatment. Eggsy was young and inexperienced, and Baker was mostly concerned with getting out without drawing attention and doubtless was not paying much attention. Nevertheless, it is worth a look.”

“What will you do with Wells?”

Harry looked at him steadily. “Does that matter to you?”

“I need to know how many corpses to keep an eye out for.”

With a careless shrug, Harry turned his back and went over to their ‘medicine cabinet’. He replenished his supply of syringes. “I’ll give you final accounting when I’m done.” He left Merlin swearing softly under his breath.

As he made his way towards the bullet train, he was stopped by Lancelot. Her pretty face was slightly creased with worry, though she was doing an admirable job of trying to conceal it. “Harry, do you have a moment to talk?”

“Certainly, Roxy.” He gestured for her to lead the way and followed her back to her small office. Inside, she shut the door firmly, then pulled a small device out of her pocket. He recognized it as a signal jammer that would interrupt not only cell signals but any listening devices. “That seems rather extreme,” he noted mildly.

“There’s talk,” she said bluntly. “Percival has warned me off associating too closely with Eggsy. Or you,” she added. “There’s rumors going round that Eggsy used to be a prostitute, and his fitness as an agent is being questioned. I’ve read the Articles, Harry. There could well be a vote to remove him. Everyone knows that you and Merlin would oppose it, and I would as well although I’ve let Percival think I’m on the fence. If the vote happens, I’m afraid there would be enough agents in favor of it for it to pass.”

“I’ve been aware of the rumors, although this is the first I’ve heard of a potential for a vote.”

“It’s been kept very quiet. Nothing is being discussed on Kingsman grounds. Percival spoke to me about it at my place.”

“I see. Fortunately, such a vote cannot take place without Eggsy present. We have at least the duration of his present mission to see if we cannot talk sense into our comrades.”

She gave him a frustrated look. “We? Harry, I have very little influence, you must know that. I was barely acceptable to the old Arthur, and only in comparison to Eggsy. It’s the same with the current one. Percival is the only one who would even consider listening to me. Most of them are almost as unhappy with a woman in the ranks as they are with someone from the estate.”

“I’m aware,” Harry said gently. “Nonetheless, we must attempt it. Your own performance since being made Lancelot works in your favor. You have performed exemplary service, demonstrated your skill and intelligence, and you have the same background as our comrades which will have them listen to you where they will not Eggsy. We also, I dare say, have the support of the majority of our support personnel. That is also not to be underestimated. The way the Article regarding the vote is concerned is written, a strong argument can be made for support staff having the right to vote on such matters as well as agents.”

“Arthur would never allow such a thing,” she protested.

“Perhaps. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I know Eggsy appreciates and values both your support and your friendship very highly. I _am_ looking into the source of the rumor. I am hopeful that I can nip all this in the bud before it gets too out of hand.”

Relieved, Roxy nodded. “Thank you, Harry. I’ll do my best to talk the others round. If you need any help with the investigation, let me know.”

“I will do that, my dear. Now, you’d best turn that off. Merlin gets rather cross when those are used on the premises – rather interferes with many of his toys.” Harry squeezed her shoulder reassuringly before leaving. He was rather disappointed in Percival – considering that man’s proposal was a woman, he had thought him rather more enlightened than he apparently was.

Manfred Wells was another creature of routine. His routine, fortunately, did not include other people very often. He seemed to spend most of his time in his small flat, going to the shops once a week for his groceries and other necessities. His computer seemed to be his primary focus, and Harry had little doubt as to why.

He waited until Wells had done his weekly shop before taking him and making the drive to the same dilapidated barn where Baker had met his end. Unlike Baker, Wells turned to sniveling begging as soon as he woke, and Harry regarded him with disgust.

“Do you really think you deserve mercy? You prey on children, Mr. Wells. You take them, abuse them, and scar them forever with your vile touch. I find it little wonder that you’re terrified of me, as it’s clear you’re not potent with anyone past the age of puberty.”

“It’s not my fault,” Wells snivelled. “I’m sick, ain’t I? I din’t ask to be this way.”

“Perhaps not. I’ll allow that you may not be able to help your unnatural desires,” Harry mused. Wells looked relieved for a moment. “However, you _can_ help whether or not you act on them. I’m certain that, once I go through your computer, I will find any number of images and videos of children being victimized. I also know about your arrangement with Baker some years ago. As I understand it, you arranged so many profitable dates for young Eggsy that you were allowed to touch him for free.”

“It weren’t like that! Eggsy he – he liked it! He din’t never ask me to stop!”

“He wasn’t given a choice. You beat him when he cried, and he was under threat from Baker to comply or his mother would be taking his place. You could have resisted your urges and instead helped the boy. Instead, you not only helped abuse him, but arranged for others to do so. I want the names of every single person that you brought in to rape that boy. I want their names, their description, and how to find them.”

Wells’ eyes went wide. “Are you mad? They’d kill me!”

“Ah, I see. You’re laboring under a misapprehension. You are going to die, Mr. Wells. Today, in this barn. Baker met his end here just over a week ago, and today, it’s your turn. It simply seemed the polite thing to do to explain to you why.”

“But - but over the likes of Eggsy? I ain’t never touched one of your kind! Eggsy’s just – just some kid from the estates, yeah? Your type don’t care ‘bout the likes of him! I swear, guv, I never touched one of yours!”

“Oh, not this again. How very tedious. I care very little about what income bracket a child comes from! I'll grant you that others of my station still do, but that nonsense is well on its way out. Children should be untouchable because _they are children_ , not because their parents are wealthy. I am heartily sick of this inane prejudice.” He withdrew the first syringe and stabbed it into the man’s neck, rather more roughly than he had even done with Baker. Wells mewled. “Now then. That will ensure you do not lie to me. We are going to go over every single person you helped abuse Eggsy, who they are, where they are, every detail you can recall. When we have finished that, I have another lovely little injection for you, whereupon I plan to watch you die, writhing in agony. Shall we get started?”

What followed was a nauseatingly detailed account, interspersed with periods of weeping and begging forgiveness, of every man Wells had contacted and arranged ‘dates’ for Eggsy with. A handful were apparently serving prison sentences at the moment, but not all of them. One in particular was of great interest to Harry, prompting him to go so far as to pull out his phone to show Wells a photograph to confirm the identity.

When he was sure that he had everything of value to his investigation from the man, he pulled the second syringe out of his pocket. He injected the man with a certain amount of relish and watched as Wells descended quite rapidly into a begging, squirming mess. He didn’t last as long as Baker, being even older, with equally as poor eating habits. His heart gave out before he could even bite his tongue off! A bit disappointing, really. Harry disposed of him with the same efficiency as he had Baker, then arranged to meet Merlin off Kingsman grounds in order to turn over the computer he’d taken from Wells’ place.

Merlin eyed it with distaste. “Do we really need to go through this?”

“I’m not leaving any stone unturned. You can destroy it once you’ve made sure there isn’t anything pertinent to my investigation on it. Be on the lookout for _anything_ that could tie in to Kingsman personnel – agents or otherwise. Alternatively, you may pass any evidence you like on to the appropriate authorities in order to remove more predators from the streets. I’ll leave that to your discretion,” Harry dismissed.

“Very well. What’s your next move?”

“I have a name for the rich old man whom Eggsy stabbed,” Harry informed him. “Conveniently, he is out of the country at present, so I intend to turn every property associated with him upside down for evidence. Then I will ruin him, ruin Arthur, and start making some long overdue changes at Kingsman – once I bring Eggsy home, that is.”

“Don’t be so quick about that, man. He's doing far better than we could have hoped right where he is. If he keeps on like I think he will, he’ll have crippled the threat from that region for a good long while.”

Harry smiled proudly. “Oh, I have no doubt of that. He’s far too stubborn to let this situation bring him down, and he’ll complete the mission with an excess of flair, just to thumb his nose at Arthur.”

“He reminds me of you like that,” Merlin agreed.

 

Harry took his time scouting his next target. As he’d told Merlin, the man was out of the country, which gave him the opportunity. But as a long time Kingsman, he was not a stupid man, and it didn’t do to tip one’s hand too soon. He located a number of surveillance systems in place, and it was a tedious process to hack into them and loop the feed so that the owner would remain unaware of his intrusion. Once inside, he still had to remain cautious as he searched the overly large house, just in case any boobytraps had been set. Harry had one or two of his own, so it was definitely prudent to show caution.

As expected, he found nothing of interest in the Kingsman laptop he found in the man’s study. But he _also_ found a small, hidden room. It was no surprise to find the concealed entrance was boobytrapped, the only surprise being that he hadn’t found more of them. Still, the room boasted not only a number of weapons, most of which were not Kingsman issue, but also a secondary computer.

The hard drive was massive. It was also locked with some extremely advanced software that would wipe the data if someone attempted to login without the appropriate credentials. It was admittedly beyond his capabilities – his, but not Merlin’s. The Scotsman was a little stressed when Harry contacted him to hack into it, as much because he was busy supervising a number of ops as the identity of the owner was extremely surprising. Still, he was able to burrow his way in and unlock the device, but flatly refused to be the one to go through it. Manfred’s computer had put him at his limit.

Harry couldn’t blame him. They often saw distressing things, but children were, not surprisingly, a stressor for almost all of them. He himself was not looking forward to what he expected to find.

And there was a very great deal to find. The entire hard drive was filled with images and videos of child pornography. What’s more, there were dozens of folders devoted to specific children, whose images and videos were clearly taken using Kingsman tech – a private feed via their glasses, much as Harry himself had set up. The videos spanned a couple decades, at least, with a few even predating the agent’s recruitment to Kingsman and obviously transferred at some point from an older format.

There was a _large_ file devoted to young Eggsy, blue eyes devoid of life in a way Harry had never seen him.

Harry came very close to destroying the entire setup. As though he could wipe out the actions if he simply wiped out the existence of the files. Good sense prevailed in the end, as it was precisely the proof that would be needed to carve this cancer from Kingsman and provide at least a modicum of justice for the victims, including Eggsy.

He took the hard drive with him when he left.

Merlin knew after only a glance that he had found what he’d been looking for, and his jaw clenched with fury. “What’s the status on all active ops?” Harry asked, voice deceptively mild. “I intend to call a full assembly at the very earliest opportunity.”

“Everyone should be able to get here in about four days, including Eggsy. We’re in the process of extracting him now, in fact. If you watch the news, it would seem that a great deal of infighting has begun within the biggest terrorist organization over there. A number of weapons depots have recently exploded, looks to be an inside job. The leader and his top three lieutenants have been confirmed killed. It will be some time before they’re organized enough to do anything to anyone else, and possibly even longer before they have the munitions to try.”

“Well. It can’t be helped. I’ll speak to him when he gets back, before the assembly. He can’t go in there without warning.”

“Harry, does he have any clue what you’ve been looking into?”

“I doubt it. It wouldn’t occur to him that anyone would go to such lengths on his behalf. I’ll do my best to protect his privacy – the images with him in them needn’t be brought up at all. There is sufficient evidence without them.”

~

Eggsy returned after several hellish weeks, grimly triumphant. He had very much gone above and beyond the mission outline, which had called strictly for information gathering. He had bloody well crippled the biggest terrorist cell and blown up every weapons cache he or Kingsman tech could find. He doubted it would keep them down forever, but it would be a long time before they were strong enough to try anything outside their own region.

It had been a great way to blow off steam and clear his head, actually. He was hoping to get a chance to talk to Harry, see if they couldn’t work together on a way to get Arthur to back off. He was a _damned_ good agent, and he didn’t deserve to be run off or worked into an early grave just because he’d been born on the wrong side of the tracks and been made to do some shitty things to survive and protect his mother.

He didn’t expect much if any downtime. He was surprised therefore when Harry greeted him coming off the plane. “Harry?”

His friend didn’t seem exactly overjoyed to see him. “Eggsy. Very well done. Merlin and his team are poring over the intelligence you brought back. The hope is that much of it won’t be needed, now that they seem to be blowing each other up, but it is very welcome anyway.”

Eggsy grinned, pleased. “Nice bit o’ work. So am I gonna have a chance at a shower and dinner before I’m sent out again or what?”

“Of course. I believe I promised dinner at your favorite Italian place, did I not? I am a man of my word.”

Eggsy fell into step beside him as they made their way into the living area of the mansion. “You’ve never broken a promise to me, true enough. Doesn’t mean Arthur ain’t gonna be shoving my arse out the door into another warzone or something.”

“He may well wish to do so at present, but as I am calling for a full assembly in a few days, once Kay is in position to return, he won’t have much choice but to hold off.”

Eggsy stopped in his tracks and stared. “In person?” he clarified. Harry nodded. “What the hell have you done, Harry?”

“Nothing I wish to discuss here, although I will certainly fill you in as soon as we’re somewhere secure.”

“And HQ isn’t secure enough for this?”

“No.”

Ice curdling his guts, Eggsy kept his mouth shut and followed Harry to the suite assigned to him when he stayed at HQ. He took a fast shower and changed into one of his suits, glad to have the familiar fabric wrapped around him once again. He looked odd to himself, with his hair bleached lighter and his skin baked darker than it had ever been before. “Why don’t we just get takeaway tonight, Harry? I’m knackered. We can go out tomorrow maybe.”

“Whatever you wish.” Harry called the order in while they took the bullet back into London, and the delivery driver was waiting as their taxi dropped them off in front of Harry’s house. Eggsy didn’t so much as glance at the food when they got inside, simply crossed his arms and stared at Harry as he hung up both their jackets and put the food in the fridge. “I’ve been investigating the situation. I found out far more than I expected to. Please, sit.”

Reluctantly, Eggsy took a seat on the sofa, then just as reluctantly, accepted the glass of scotch Harry poured for him. He wasn’t comforted at all when Harry left the bottle on the table. “Harry, you’ve got me worried as fuck, here. What’s going on?”

“Merlin didn’t know who wrote up that mission, nor where the information on your past came from. No one in Kingsman should have had cause to look into your past. So I went to the source. Dean provided me with a few crumbs, and I followed the trail. Eggsy, one of our fellow agents was one of the men who abused you as a child. I found evidence that you were far from his only victim.”

“Huh.” Now glad of the scotch, Eggsy tossed it back without respect for its age and gladly accepted the refill. “I don’t know what to do with that,” he admitted.

“You don’t need to do anything with it. I am handling it. He needs to be stopped, and he needs to be exposed in front of everyone for the monster that he is. More, I suspect he dropped the little whisper in Arthur’s ear about what to look for and where to find it in an effort to tarnish your reputation. I haven’t found evidence that Arthur knew the actual situation, or the nature of the agent we’ve been working alongside of, but simply the way he went out of his way to force you out should be enough to remove him.”

“How did you get Dean to spill? He’d never cop to it on his own.”

“True enough. He wasn’t terribly willing to speak to me at first, but you know the type of tools we have at our disposal. One little injection, and he couldn’t stop himself from telling me everything I wanted to know.” Harry reached out and grabbed his arm in a firm, comforting grip. “You should know, Dean Baker is never going to harm another person again. Nor will Manfred Wells, or the individual known as Poodle. I’m afraid the others still breathe, but I have yet to come up with a plan to kill them without drawing rather more attention to the situation than I’d like.”

“They’ll fall to squabbling b’tween themselves soon enough. Rottie fancies himself a real leader, but he don’t know his arse from his elbow. They’ll either kill each other or get knicked,” Eggsy said absently, mind going round and round. The nightmares of his childhood had almost all been eliminated. Harry had gone out there, hunted them down, and killed them. For _him_. For little, street trash Eggsy, Harry Hart had put his considerable skills to work and wiped out the monsters that had haunted his dreams and memories. And if he wasn’t mistaken, the only one left was going to be dealt with in a matter of days. Harry was taking down another Knight, not to mention _Arthur_ , for **_him._**

“That was my assessment as well,” Harry agreed.

Eggsy speared him with a look. “It’s the rich one, innit? The one as liked to see me choke. That’s the one left, the one I been working with for months now.”

“Yes. You were rather more efficient than I had hoped. We could have had the assembly without you. I didn’t want you to have to deal with being in the same room as him again, but since you’re here, there’s no way to avoid it.”

“Fuck that! Harry, it never bloody occurred to me to even try to find any of those fuckers,” Eggsy said fiercely. “Got so used to thinkin’ there was nothing I could ever do about it, I never gave it a fucking thought later on, when I was grown and trained up and _could_ have. I want to be there. I want to finally see his face so I can spit on it when you show everyone one o’ his best buddies that he’s nothin’ more than a kiddie diddler, and they been walking around looking down their noses at _me_ just cause I was a kid who didn’t know how to defend himself.” He twisted his arm so he could grab Harry and pull him into a hug just as tight as the one he’d given the man when he’d first seen him after V-day. “You got no idea what this means to me,” he breathed.

“Oh, my dear boy. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you,” Harry said, clutching Eggsy back just as tightly.

Eggsy held on as long as he dared. His eyes were more than a little damp when he pulled back, but as Harry seemed in a similar state, he couldn’t let himself get too embarrassed over it. “Are we gonna have to expect any questions when Dean’s body is found? Only I want to make sure I have a good alibi at the ready.”

“I very much doubt that his remains will be found. If they are, they’ll be far too degraded for an autopsy to turn anything up.”

“What about Poodle?”

“That one has already been found, but the general consensus is that Dean killed him and fled the area. Thus far, Manfred Wells hasn’t even been reported missing. It’s unlikely that he will be for quite some time, and I don’t anticipate any questions being asked at your door when it happens. We’ll take care of it if I am wrong.”

Eggsy scrubbed at his eyes, then reached for his drink. “Okay. Okay. So who is it? Which one of those stuck up bastards that’s been treating me like shit likes to get his rocks off with kids?”

“Percival.”

“What.” Eggsy dropped the glass in shock, though Harry was able to catch it before it shattered at their feet. “But. He’s the only one to be even halfway decent!”

“Eggsy, I have zero doubt. Percival, or William Hartford, is the rich old man who used to pay Dean Baker to be allowed to assault you. And the one whom you, my dear, stabbed in abdomen. The scar is in his medical file, in fact.” Harry gave him a small smile. “He treated it himself and claimed that it had happened on a mission when the scar was questioned, but you may be pleased know that the evidence indicates you came very close to perforating his intestines. A few more millimeters, and he would have had to seek medical aid somewhere to fix it or risk dying of sepsis.”

“That close, eh? Wish I could remember,” Eggsy said wistfully. At Harry’s look, he shrugged. “Dean weren’t too happy I did that. I don’t remember much, on account of him beating the shit outta me. Memory’s a bit fuzzy about the whole thing.”

A dark expression crossed Harry’s features. “I killed that bastard too quickly,” he muttered.

Eggsy stared at him, astonished all over again by the venom in Harry’s voice. The sheer protective rage that made every syllable vibrate. “I don’t think anyone has ever given enough of a shit about me to be angry, much less kill someone,” he marveled.

“Then you’ve been surrounded by fools,” Harry said flatly.

“You-you keep talkin’ like that, you’re gonna get yourself kissed,” Eggsy warned, trying to make it sound joking. There was a flash of heat in the other man’s eyes, swiftly hidden, but Eggsy was sure of what he’d seen. “In fact, I might just kiss you anyway,” he dared.

Harry held himself very still. “Eggsy. I can’t imagine anyone declining your kisses,” he began, tone soft and careful.

“I ain’t offerin’ kisses to anyone,” Eggsy interrupted. “An’ I don’t care about ‘anyone’. I care about _you_. If I offered you kisses, would you want them?”

Harry closed his eyes. “Eggsy, please. You don’t _owe_ me anything.”

“And I ain’t offering to pay some kinda debt!” Eggsy snapped. “No matter what Dean tried, I ain’t a bloody whore! I’m not talking debts or gratitude or anything of the kind, Harry. I’m talking _want_. Desire. Maybe even love, though I’ll give ya that I don’t have much experience o’ that. Harry, please. Don’t try to shove what I’m feeling into some stupid little box. This ain’t a new thing, I just – I never fuckin’ dreamed I could have a chance, okay? I didn’t think – I din’t think you’d ever be able to feel somethin’ like this for me, of all people. But I know what I saw in your eyes just now, and that weren’t no paternal thing. An’ you went out, and you killed people. Not for a mission. Not to keep the greater peace. This was personal for you, ‘cause these bastards hurt _me._ It was the same bloody thing I was feelin’ in Valentine’s bunker, an’ when I was sittin’ next to fuckin’ Arthur an’ he was talkin’ ‘bout makin’ me his proposal for your seat.”

Harry’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Oh.”

Eggsy scowled. “That the best you got? ‘Oh’?” He flopped back and rubbed his forehead. “Fuckin’ ‘oh’.”

“I’m processing,” Harry said, rather primly. “It’s not every day that one gets offered one’s fondest dream, after all. Particularly when one thought that dream utterly out of reach.”

“Out of reach? I’m right fuckin’ here!”

“Yes. Yes you are. And, Eggsy, if you still want to offer your kisses, I would be beyond glad to accept them – provided you’ll accept mine in return.”

“Wanker.” Rolling his eyes, Eggsy leaned forward and reeled Harry in by the tie. Harry’s lips were warm and soft beneath his and parted with a sigh to let his tongue slip between them. Eggsy shifted his hands, much preferring the feel of Harry’s solid shoulders to the crumpled tie. His whole body shivered when Harry cupped the back of his head in one hand and his jaw in the other, gently using his thumb to encourage Eggsy to open wider to allow his tongue inside. It was the hottest kiss of his entire life, but he could feel Harry still holding back. “What? What is it?” he whispered against Harry’s lips, taking the opportunity to flick his tongue for a quick tease.

“Forgive me, darling,” Harry said ruefully. He kissed Eggsy again swiftly but briefly. “I want to shower you with kisses. I want to spread you across my bed and utterly take you apart until you can’t remember your own name. But I also want to wrap you in lambswool and hide you away from the world. It’s a very strange mix, I’m really not used to it.”

“Is it knowin’ what happened?” Eggsy asked, voice steady.

“A bit. I am having a difficult time getting the images out of my head,” Harry admitted.

“Images?” Eggsy sat back. “What images?”

“He had videos, pictures, on his home system.”

“Of me?”

Harry looked pained. “Yes.”

Eggsy went cold all over, and nausea curdled his stomach. “So what, that’s all you see when you look at me?” he asked, leaning back to put as much space as he could between them. “Just some kid choking on cock? Fuckin’ hell, I shoulda known this was too good to be true.” He surged to the side, ducking around where Harry was sat on the coffee table and headed towards the door.

Harry caught his arm and tugged him back. “No! Damn it, Eggsy, it’s not like that,” he snapped fiercely.

“Then what’s it like, then, eh? I may not have all that much experience, but I can tell you’re holdin’ back, and you sit there and tell me it’s cause you can’t stop seeing that shit, what am I supposed to think?”

“I don’t see ‘some kid choking on cock’,” Harry spat. “I see someone I care about beyond reason being hurt by someone who looks an awful lot like me! It would _kill_ me to see you look at me with that dead look in your eyes, and I’m terrified that I’ll do something to put it there! I want you, Eggsy. Please, don’t doubt that. I know you’re a man grown, who can take care of himself. I just….” Harry trailed off, fingers flexing around his wrist.

Eggsy closed his eyes and breathed for a minute. He tried reminding himself that this was still relatively fresh news for Harry. He tried reminding himself of how he’d had a difficult time _not_ treating Harry like he was some fragile thing in the wake of Valentine’s bullet, when he’d wanted to pack the man off someplace quiet and safe and not let anyone near him. And then he tried to imagine how he would feel, if he had to know and see Harry being forced. The killing rage just the _idea_ generated in him was bad enough, but it wasn’t much of a stretch to realize that he’d be terrified of doing _anything_ for fear of bringing up bad memories, of having his touch linked to the more unwelcome one. “Okay,” he said finally, opening his eyes. “Okay, I think. I think I can get it, yeah? But Harry, we gotta do something to work past it. ‘Cause I don’t see him when I look at you. You don’t feel the same, you don’t even smell the same! He uses that fucking Abercrombie and Fitch shite that everyone and their cousin fucking wears. Dean and him and all the rest, they took enough from me, yeah? Don’t let them take this too.”

“And they won’t, Eggsy. I promise you, they won’t. The only thing that will take you from me is _you_. And there is nothing that will take me from you. I am utterly mad for you, you know,” Harry vowed.

“Yeah?” Eggsy said, delight and joy slowly easing the nausea and replacing it with warmth once again. “You hid it pretty good, I was never sure before.” Harry gave his arm a gentle tug, so Eggsy took the hint to move closer, until Harry’s arm could wind around his waist to hold him close.

“Hmm. We must work on our communication, darling. You should never be unsure of what I feel for you.”

“Communication is good. Like, it drives me straight up the wall when you look at me over your glasses, with your tie just that little bit loosened. One of my favorite looks on you,” Eggsy confessed.

“Really, my dear? I must confess, I’m rather fond of the way you sprawl out when you’re relaxed and a little bit tired.” Harry traced his lips with a fingertip. “Your accent gets stronger, and I know you’re completely relaxed.”

Eggsy laughed, shocked and delighted. “You’re mad,” he chuckled. “You like me soundin’ like a bloody chav?”

“I like knowing you trust me enough to be yourself,” Harry said simply.

Eggsy swallowed and let his arms creep up around Harry’s neck. He stared up into the warm brown eyes that had the power to both send him soaring with pride and joy and cut him to his knees. “I would really like you to take me to bed, Harry,” he managed.

“My dear, it would be my greatest pleasure.” Harry still paused however, making no move towards the stairs. He also made no move to release Eggsy, so Eggsy would take the win. “Is there anything you would prefer I _avoid_ doing?” he asked, rather delicately.

Eggsy wanted to hotly deny that there could be any such thing, but he knew it for a lie instantly. As badly as he wanted to believe that he’d left all that behind him, that it didn’t affect him anymore, Harry deserved better than him lying to both of them. “Don’t pull my hair,” he said, gaze slightly off to the side of Harry’s eyes. “And don’t – no name callin’, like. Much as I wanna hear your dirty talk, not sure I’d take kindly to any of those sorts of names.”

“Does it bother when I call you things other than your name?”

“Nah, kinda like it, actually. I mean like callin’ me a filthy slut or sommat. Not a fan o’ that kinda thing.”

“Nor am I, actually, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“What ‘bout you? Anythin’ you don’ like?”

“I will likely need you to avoid blocking the doorway, if you should choose to spend the night.”

“I can do that,” Eggsy agreed. “Now take me t’bed and let me get m’hands all over you, yeah?”

“Excellent suggestions, darling.”

~

Harry trailed gentle fingertips slowly along the dip of Eggsy’s spine, hardly able to believe his current situation. He had been content – more than content, to be honest – simply having this bright young thing as his friend. To be granted more seemed no less than a miracle, and it was one that he was far too selfish, far too greedy, to be able to resist. He had _seen_ just how terribly William had hurt him, he didn’t think it was a stretch to think that Eggsy might have an aversion – well founded – to men like himself. Whatever his young lover said, there were at least superficial similarities between William and himself. That Eggsy trusted and cared for him enough to trust himself in this fashion…humbled him. And enraged him anew at the idea of someone attempting to take that ability to trust away.

He hadn’t gone through all the files. For all he’d seen in his life, he’d been unable to continue stomaching the filth stored on that computer.

“You’re thinkin’ ‘bout that bastard again,” Eggsy observed, breath fanning against his shoulder.

“I apologize, darling. You deserve my full attention.” Harry turned his head to press an apologetic kiss to messy blond hair.

Eggsy snorted. “Don’t think for a second that I ain’t got it. Can’t deny your anger is for me.” Eggsy tilted his face up. “Am I shitty for likin’ that?”

“Not at all. You’re more than deserving of someone being angry on your behalf. I am also angry for any number of reasons. Because whatever illness woke that impulse in him, he should have had enough decency to control it. Because he betrayed his oath to Kingsman when he hurt you and the others. Because he used Kingsman time and tech and resources to aid him in what he was doing – and because, after all of that, it was still not enough and he attempted to ruin _your_ reputation and run you out.”

“Well, he kinda had to, din’t he? Might never’ve seen ‘is face, but eventually he’d say sommat that would make me remember. ‘e was always a talker. Had t’know I’d kill ‘im when I remembered.”

Harry looked down, but Eggsy was lying with his eyes closed, perfectly at his ease as he spoke about killing a man. It probably shouldn’t be as attractive as it was. “And do you intend to? Kill him, that is.”

“What, was you gonna send him to prison?”

“Of course not. Once the evidence is presented, Arthur and the others will have no choice but to agree to a death penalty. I doubt there’s a prison in the world that could hold one of us. I was merely asking if you wished to be the one to carry out the sentence.”

“I don’t care how ‘e dies or who does it,” Eggsy said flatly. “So long as ‘e’s dead an’ can’t hurt anyone else.” He looked up suddenly, blue eyes piercing Harry where he lay. “But _you_ care, don’t you? Harry. Do you want to kill him?”

“More than I can say,” Harry confessed. “But it is your right.”

Snorting, Eggsy settled his head back down. “We ain’t callin’ dibs on who gets t’ murder someone, Harry. ‘Sides, if we were, the only one I’d o’ wanted was Dean. For what ‘e did t’ mum, an’ me, an’ makin’ Daisy spend ‘er first coupla years in fear? Him I woulda gladly killed.”

“So why didn’t you? I know you beat the tar out of him and his thugs. Why did you not finish the job?”

“Not really Kingsman-like, yeah? Woulda’ been selfish,” Eggsy shrugged. “Didn’t work m’arse off to learn all that to waste it all on one piece o’ shit.”

“I apologize, darling. You should have had the satisfaction.”

“Is it awful that I kinda like it that you killed ‘im for me?”

“I am honestly not certain that you’re capable of being awful.”

“I ain’t perfect, Harry,” Eggsy protested.

“True.” Harry slithered and pushed until Eggsy was on his back and Harry was free to lavish kisses over his face and down his neck. “I happen to know that you snore, dearest. And you make truly horrendous puns.” He paused to nibble at an enticing collar bone. “You also have a dreadful habit of biting your bottom lip,” he murmured, letting his breath fan out over damp, sensitized skin.

“An’ that makes me a bad guy, does it?” Eggsy said, sounding a touch breathless.

“A terrible man,” Harry told him seriously, “when that should be my job. Really, Eggsy, I don’t see how you can live with yourself.”

Eggsy smirked a little. “Well, I s’pose I need a bit of correction, then. Someone to help me break bad habits. Know anyone who’d be interested in helping me out?”

“I may know someone who could be persuaded. If you ask nicely.”

“You mean show off m’ good manners?” Harry nodded, darting out his tongue for a quick swipe over a pebbled nipple. Eggsy widened his eyes and gave a winsome smile. “Oh please, Harry, won’t you show me the proper way to nibble?”

“A vital skill for a gentleman,” Harry approved. “Come here, darling, and let me show you how it’s done.”

“Yes, Harry!”

 

Waking with Eggsy sprawled over the bed, an arm and leg flung over Harry’s body, was a delight. Harry traced his fingers along relaxed muscles, studying the way gooseflesh rose in his wake. Eggsy stirred, lips curling in a smile before he’d even opened his eyes. “Morning, love,” Eggsy murmured.

“Darling.” Harry twined their fingers and brought their hands up so he could kiss the callused fingertips.

“Sap,” Eggsy accused, laughter in his voice.

“Perhaps. Can you blame me?”

“Nah. Might be feelin’ a bit sappy m’self.” Eggsy scooted closer to share a soft good morning kiss. “Don’t even mind the mornin’ breath, that’s how gone I am,” he said, sounding faintly mournful. “You’ve gone and ruined me for anyone else. You know that, right? From day fuckin’ one.”

“Oh, I doubt that,” Harry said.

“You think? Watchin’ you thrash those dickheads was a pleasure. You’ve no idea how hard I was,” he confessed.

Harry perked up. “Really? Tell me more, darling.” The twinned grumbling of their stomachs rather broke the mood, and Eggsy laughed.

“Maybe after breakfast?” he suggested.

“I shall hold you to that, my dear.” Harry ran a hand down his back, helping himself to a quick squeeze of a perfect arse. Eggsy wriggled, pushing back into the touch before rolling off the side to his feet. He snagged Harry’s robe and raised an eyebrow in question. “Help yourself,” Harry told him, privately thrilling when his young lover wrapped the rich red cloth around himself. He got up himself and slid into a pair of pajama pants to follow Eggsy out of the room.

In the kitchen, they fell into a natural rhythm, with Eggsy working on tea and toast, while Harry worked on frying up the eggs and bacon. When they finally sat down to eat, it was with legs intertwined beneath the table. It was ridiculously domestic and utterly perfect, and Harry couldn’t believe he got to have it. He looked over and smiled at the toast crumbs caught in the corner of Eggsy’s mouth. He leaned forward to wipe them away with his thumb, heart thudding like a teenager’s when Eggsy automatically licked it before he could draw away. “I really do adore you, my dear,” he confessed.

“Good. Cause I’m fuckin’ mad for you,” Eggsy told him, catching his hand to lay a kiss on his wrist.

A nearby insistent beeping broke the moment. They both shot his phone a disgruntled look where it lay on the counter, abandoned last night when they’d put the takeaway in the fridge. With a sigh, he got up to check it. “It’s from Merlin,” he said, feeling his pulse race for a whole different reason. “Kay has also returned early. He’s called for the assembly today.” He gave a slow, probably bloodthirsty, smile.

“So much for m’plans,” Eggsy grumbled. Harry blinked at him surprised. “What? Harry, love, you got a great big bed up there. I was rather hoping to destroy another set of sheets today.”

“Ah.” Harry glanced around. “Now I’m almost disappointed in Kay, being so efficient. Unfortunately, there’s really no way to postpone it.”

“It’s okay,” Eggsy allowed. “We can get this shite out of the way and come back to focus on more important things without it hangin’ over our heads. When do we need to head in?”

“Noon, I’m afraid. It will allow Kay time to debrief.”

Eggsy winced. “Which I skipped, yesterday. I’m sure I’ll catch hell for that later.”

“Under the circumstances, I highly doubt it.”

They were able to finish breakfast and get ready for their day with only minimal horseplay. As much as Harry wanted to sling an arm around his boy’s waist and take him down onto the bed, the message – the anticipation of violence, if he were honest – had him keyed up in all the wrong ways. He would likely be rather rough, in his present mood, and this aspect of their relationship was too new for that. There needed to be much more communication between them first, more exploration, more trust of the rather unique type built between lovers before he sought that sort of release with Eggsy.

For the moment, he would simply have to bury it, squirrel it away for future use. Fortunately, he didn’t think he’d have overly long to wait.

They arrived together at HQ, and Harry was keenly aware of the looks the pair of them received as they walked in. It was more than obvious to everyone that something was afoot. They would, none of them, from techs to drivers to the cleaning staff, be in Kingsman if they were stupid. Given the recent rumors, there was little doubt in everyone’s mind that the situation that had brought every agent to be in house at the same time centered around Eggsy. And everyone knew, further, that if it had to do with Eggsy, Harry would be in the thick of it. He kept his face bland and his walk loose and easy, confident. Beside him, Eggsy wasn’t quite so sanguine about matters. There was a tightness around his eyes and a slight stiffness to his walk that indicated a certain amount of stress, though only those who knew him well would likely pick up on it.

Wordless, they joined the others in the parlor as they waited for Kay to finish his debrief and the assembly to be called, as they were a little bit early. He was pleased to see Percival there, obviously unaware, which meant he hadn’t had a chance to return to his home to find the missing hard drive, sitting calmly beside Lancelot, who took the time to meet Harry’s eyes and give him a brief worried look. Harry could hardly reassure her. She was in for a devastating afternoon, even if the result would be rather different from what she currently feared.

The wait wasn’t even long enough to brew a pot of tea. Merlin appeared in the doorway and wordlessly summoned them all to the table. Inside, Kay sat looking tired but pleased, indicating that his early return was due to success rather than some sort of complication. Arthur, the miserable bastard, looked smug when his eyes met Harry’s.

“Very well, Merlin. The table is assembled,” Arthur began. “What matter is so grave that you felt the need to request it?”

“Your pardon, Arthur,” Merlin drawled. “I never said I was calling for the assembly, simply that one was needed.”

“Then who –“

Harry raised his hand. “I did, of course. Recent events brought to my attention the fact that there’s a rot in Kingsman – right here at the center. First, let us look to you, Arthur. A few weeks ago, you presented Gawain with a mission that read as though it had been written by an angsty teen writer of fanfiction.” Harry gestured, and the old mission file appeared on the large mirror screen. He gave his comrades time to read it, amused to see the same baffled disgust he’d felt reflected in their faces. “It seemed to be nothing more than a very poor attempt to force Gawain to act in the role of a prostitute, though his gender would have eliminated him as an object of interest to the supposed target. Further, it allowed the rumor to spread that Gawain had once before, in his life prior to Kingsman, engaged in that oldest of professions.”

“Which he, in fact, did,” Arthur snapped, full of righteous fury. “Seeing as he failed the final test, I offered him another way to prove his loyalty and faith. As I had it on good authority that he had whored before, having him do so in a way that would be useful seemed an excellent way for him to prove himself to me and his fellow agents.”

“Whose authority, Arthur?” Harry demanded.

“That hardly matters! Particularly considering that he failed yet again.”

“He used Article 23 to decline the mission,” Harry corrected. “That provision is in place for all of us, should a mission touch on something that would make us psychologically unsound to handle it. A provision we are honor bound to use, so as to not jeopardize the goal. Yet, as I researched both prior uses of it by past members, as well as the mission schedule for Gawain going forward, it became obvious that it was used, not to protect Knights as well as vital missions, but as a way to force Knights out either through death or retirement. It’s a perversion of what Kingsman is supposed to stand for.”

“Oh, that’s nonsense,” Arthur blustered. “There is no evidence – “

Merlin tapped his clipboard to show the previous missions that had driven out prior agents, as well as the mission schedule that had been proposed for Eggsy. The Knights stirred. Though there was nothing quite so disruptive as whispers between them, there was more than one speaking glance.

Arthur simply looked irritated. The evidence was damning, but hardly enough to roust him from his position, particularly when it was only Eggsy, after all. Not like it was one of them, not someone from a good family, that Arthur had been trying to oust.

It infuriated Harry even more. “I want to know who spoke to you that caused you to go, in person, to the council estates and pay 100k for information on Gawain’s past.”

“A reliable source, above reproach. And he was right! I was able to confirm for myself that your _protégé_ used to sell himself for money.”

“I want the name of the Knight, Archibald.” The silence that filled the room was profound. To drop the respectful codename here, in this setting, showed all too clearly that Harry no longer considered the man to be in charge.

“Really, Galahad,” Percival murmured. “That’s going a bit far. I had my suspicions, based on a handful of things I heard from the boy’s own mouth. I was concerned that he could encounter one of his former… _clients_ , if my suspicions were accurate.”

Harry relaxed back in his seat, allowing a small smile to play over his lips. Archibald looked vindicated. “Thank you for your…honesty. I’m sure that’s the story you gave Archie here. But as _you_ are the other reason I called this assembly, I don’t imagine either of you will appreciate your being so forthcoming.” He gestured at Merlin, then gave Eggsy a reassuring look. “You see, I was investigating where on earth Archie could have come up with such a notion. What I found was that, rather than having willingly sold sexual favors, Gawain had in fact been trafficked from the age of 12 through the age of 15 by his former step-father. He was a child victim forced to commit sexual acts through violence, threats of further violence, and with the threat of his mother being forced to take his place. I also found, William, that you were one of his abusers.”

The room exploded. The men around the table almost all leapt to their feet, shouting and red faced, once the meaning of his words sank in. Merlin simply pressed play, and a video montage, clearly taken via Kingsman glasses, played on the screen. It actually took a few minutes for the video to catch the attention of the angry men. One by one, the horrific sounds got through their righteous anger, and one by one they fell silent.

William didn’t look. William, instead, stared Harry down with a cold hatred in his eyes. Harry met his stare without a flinch. “It’s all faked,” he said, trying to sound outraged. “Harry created this nonsense in an effort to protect his protégé. I have never laid an inappropriate hand on a child.”

“There’s more than two terabytes of this on your personal hard drive, recovered with a witness from your home,” Merlin interjected.

William looked around and, with the first sign of nervousness, licked his lips. He didn’t see even one sympathetic face. Not one who might be an ally, even his own niece, sitting next to him, but leaning as far as her chair allowed with a look of mingled horror and disgust. “Come now,” he tried. “It’s not that outrageous to pay for some light entertainment. In our profession, lasting romantic relationships are rather difficult, and could prove disastrous. I know I am not the only one in this room to seek the services of a professional for a little stress release.”

“Over two terabytes of child pornography, including far too many videos like this of yourself raping children, isn’t stress release,” Merlin hissed. “I call for a vote to remove William Hartford from the rolls. How say you all?”

A massive, collective “Aye!” rang out.

William lunged from his seat, hands outstretched, straight at Eggsy. He was hampered by both the table and his own seat, but it didn’t stop the attempt. Eggsy pushed back with well honed reflexes, flipped out of his chair, and stood at the ready.

Harry raised an eyebrow at him. “There’s no sentence besides death for this,” he reminded his lover, as well as the room at large.

“You won’t hear me complainin’,” Eggsy said. “t’was more than just me he hurt. An’ not like we can make him stand trial.”

“You miserable little pleb,” William spat. “You don’t belong here! You’re not fit to breathe the same air as us, and you think you have the right to stand there and judge?”

Eggsy tilted his head. “Course I do. And going on the looks everyone else is givin’ ya, I ain’t the only one judging you.” His gaze hardened. “God only knows how many kids you’ve hurt over the years. An’ the shitty thing is, you mighta continued t’go free, if you’da just let me be. Not like we worked together much, yeah? But you couldn’t risk it. You had t’ try t’ make it so’s I couldn’t stay, try t’ take away everythin’ I’ve built m’self into, just so’s you could keep on destroyin’ kids. An’ dumb as y’ are, y’ did it in a way that pissed off Harry.” He shook his head. “Stupid move, bruv.”

William scoffed and turned his hate filled glare on Harry. “Hypocrite! Tell me, what bothers you more? That I had him, or that I had him _first_?” he sneered.

“You are a disgrace,” Archibald interjected, sounding stiff and disgusted. “Straighten yourself up. The very _least_ you can do is meet your fate with some semblance of dignity and respect for the institution you have sullied.”

William snarled wordlessly, whirled, and made for the door. Harry was on him in a flash, but Lancelot was closer. She was out of her seat and on him, pretty face twisted with anger, and swept his legs out from under him. She had her weapon drawn by the time he twisted around to rise and he froze at the sight. “You _wouldn’t_ ,” he hissed. “We’re family! I am the only reason you even have a seat at that table!”

She lifted her chin. “I earned my place at that table. You may have pointed me at the door, but I am the one that walked through it. You deserve to die. Your name will be removed from the family records. We are no family, William.”

“Well said, Lancelot,” Harry approved, coming up beside her. “But I do believe there is someone here who deserves to be the one to carry out this particular sentence.” He glanced meaningfully at Eggsy.

“Nah, Harry.” Eggsy walked around the table to stand beside them and looked down on William. “Only thing I wanna do is this.” His lips puckered and a glob of spittle hit William in the face. “That bit o’ trash don’t deserve more o’ my attention than that. You can have the pleasure.”

“Why, thank you, my dear.”

“We’ll see about that,” William snarled. He leapt to his feet and straight for Harry.

The fight was short but brutal. They were very nearly equally matched. With William fighting with all the desperation of a cornered animal, he fought as viciously as Harry had under the influence of Valentine’s sim card. He had no hope of getting out of that room. Even if Harry should fail, there were other Knights in the room who would not.

But Harry had no intention of failing. He fought with all the rage and hatred that had been building in him from the moment Eggsy had knocked on his door and demanded with wide, betrayed eyes to know why Harry had told everyone his deepest secret. Rage and hatred that had been fed with everything he’d learned from Baker, from Wells, and fed with every last second of the footage he’d been able to stomach watching of what William Hartford had done to Eggsy. The betrayal of Kingsman was, in reality, little more than a bit of a sprinkle on top of all the rest. Killing Baker and Wells had felt good, but it had been ultimately too distant to come close to satisfying the need.

Choking the life from William Hartford helped _enormously_.

When he stood up off the corpse and turned, he found the room staring at him, most of the eyes approving. Eggsy had his arm around Roxy’s shoulders, consoling her with quiet whispers. Harry let his gaze pass from Knight to Knight and finally settle on Archibald. He withdrew his pocket square and dabbed lightly at the blood dripping from his split lip. “Your actions, Archibald, have been highly inappropriate. Unbecoming of a Kingsman, much less of our leader. Will you make me call for a vote, or will you _finally_ do the honorable thing and step aside?”

“I have done _nothing_ to feel shame over! I have acted only to protect Kingsman, based on information from an agent that _none_ of us knew had fallen from grace,” Archibald said hotly.

“I call for a vote to remove Archibald Stansmith from his position as Arthur,” Bors rumbled, glaring at the man. “How say you all?”

“Aye!” Every last person in the room snarled.

Archibald went very red, then very white, fast enough that Harry was actually slightly concerned that he’d have a cardiac arrest. Unfortunately, it was not to be. Instead, he stood wavering beside what had once been his seat as Merlin stripped him of every bit of tech, including his signet ring, then escorted him to the double doors with a firm grip on his arm. Outside, several techs waited. Merlin murmured quietly for a moment. When he was done, two of the techs took over escort duty and another two entered to retrieve the body of William.

“Well, Arthur, this was the very last thing we expected of this assembly,” Bors drawled, sounding sour. “I rather expected to have a few more years before seeing you in that seat.”

“I expected it to be rather more than that before I was stuck in that seat,” Harry told him. “We have two positions to fill. Do attempt to think outside the box with your proposals. You all have one week to consider and put candidates forward. It is a new age, gentleman, lady. Let’s attempt to join it.”

The majority of the room took it for the dismissal it was. Merlin, Eggsy, and Roxy stayed behind.

“Harry, would you please tell her she’s wrong?” Eggsy demanded as soon as the doors closed.

“I would love to, darling. What is she wrong about?” With a certain amount of distaste, Harry sat in Arthur’s chair. It would need to be cleaned.

“She wants to quit!”

“How can I stay? After what my uncle did? How am I supposed to look anyone in the eye again?” Roxy shook her head. “How can you even stand to be near me, Eggsy?”

“I learned a long time ago y’can’t blame yourself for what someone else does, even when it’s family. Weren’t you that did anything to me. Ain’t your responsibility. ‘e made his choices, prolly since long before we was born.”

“Eggsy is quite right, Lancelot. William Hartford’s actions do not reflect on you. You have behaved admirably in every way. Kingsman would be the poorer if you left.” Harry did his best to give her a reassuring smile, though he didn’t know how well it would work with blood still seeping from his mouth. “Take some time off. When you’re ready, your seat will be waiting for you.”

The young woman nodded. Still not quite looking any of them in the eye, she quietly left the room.

Merlin cleared his throat. “I’ll work on getting the previous Arthur’s records compiled for you, as well as a brief on all ongoing operations. It will take a few days, I’m sure. I’ll let you know when it’s ready. Get settled in. Eggsy, that was damned fine work you did in the Middle East. You bought the world one hell of a breather.”

“Thanks, Merlin. Couldn’t of done it without you.” Merlin gave them both a nod, then headed for the door. “Er, I’ll just disable the recording in here for a bit, then. I doubt anything of interest will happen for a while.” When he left, Harry could hear the lock click.

“Cheeky bugger,” Eggsy snickered.

Harry leaned back in his seat, head tilted. “How are you feeling?”

Eggsy slowly lost his smile as he paced closer. He came to a stop beside Harry, then hitched himself onto the table in front of him. Harry blinked but settled his hands on Eggsy’s hips, thumbs kneading circles into the muscle beneath the tailored trousers. “You sure you’re ready for this?” Eggsy asked, gesturing at the chair. “I know you love being in the field, Harry.”

“There’s nothing that actually says I can’t still do field work as Arthur. But to answer your question yes. Yes I am ready. Kingsman needs to change, my dear. Just imagine what we can become if we share the silver suppositories.”

Eggsy burst out laughing and slid from the table down to straddle Harry’s lap. Harry couldn’t resist kissing that laughing mouth but wasn’t inclined to take things further just then. At least, not with where they were sitting. “Darling, darling, wait,” he murmured in between kisses.

Eggsy didn’t seem inclined towards waiting, threading his fingers into his hair and kissing along his jaw. “What for? You wanted to hear all about how hard I got watching you beat down Dean’s dogs. How hard do you think I am after watching you take down Arthur and _him_ for me?”

“I am quite keen to find out, dearest, but not in this chair. God only knows what Archibald got up to in it when no one was looking.”

“Urgh.” Eggsy pulled back, face wrinkled in disgust. “That’s rank, Harry. Thanks for that.”

“It’s not your arse touching the same seat,” Harry pointed out.

“True.” Eggsy glanced over his shoulder. “Mind you, we got at least one seat here that ain’t tainted.”

Harry followed his gaze to what had been his own seat at the table. He intended to make sure it was Eggsy’s going forward. “True enough.” He slid both hands under Eggsy’s delectable rear and stood up, delighting in the laughter and the way those legs wrapped around his waist. It only took a few steps to round the table to his usual place to deposit his young lover on the highly polished table. Eggsy wriggled and gave a couple bounces. “Sturdy table,” he observed, favoring Harry with a lecherous wink.

“Quite fortunate for us, hmm?”

“Do you suppose, in all of Kingsman history, that anyone’s naked bum has ever been on it?”

“Quite unlikely,” Harry observed, running his hands from strong hips down to narrow ankles.

Eggsy leaned back on his arms with a grin. “Buncha stodgy buggers. Waste of a fine table.”

“We should rectify that,” Harry agreed, swiftly untying the laces and sliding the highly polished oxfords from his feet. As soon as they were off, Eggsy pulled him up into a kiss, and Harry gladly let himself be pulled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
